Amid the soft glow of multicolored flashing lights and rotating circles and diamonds on a background screen, performers took the stage at the fourth annual Keepin' It Real on Saturday at the Lansing Center.
The talent show was coupled with Taste of Blackness which highlighted the creative talent of blacks from MSU and the Lansing community.
"Taste of Blackness is a display of African-American culture," psychology senior and Spartan Soul performer Ebony White said. "We did a dance that involved modern reggae and hip-hop."
From renditions of Teddie Pendergrass' music to the melodies of Stevie Wonder, the audience viewed a variety of acts.
"I thought the performances were very creative," communication freshman Elaina Best said. "I appreciate the way the young men and women can play something other than Nelly or Jay-Z."
Two-time first place winner and music education junior Reginald Page performed his version of "Incomplete" by Sisqo on his saxophone at this year's show.
"Because I won the last two years, they wanted me to be a live act," he said. "It's kind of a different perspective because the competitive part wasn't there and it's still a lot of fun because I love performing."
While this year's show offered a broad variety of talents, White, who also was a judge, said talent wasn't everything.
"I was looking for originality, I didn't want a person who sounded just like someone else," she said. "I wanted to see someone's uniqueness."
Each performance was judged on a 100-point scale and included categories such as stage presence and audience response.
"I expected whoever was competing to have talent in whatever area they performed in," English junior and judge Summer Golden said. "I wanted to see if they added their own personal flavor to the song."
For her emotional poem on the anguish of domestic violence, advertising junior Marcelle Bryant received first place.
With bent knees and soulful cries of pain, Bryant delivered a heartfelt poem on the trials of abusive relationships.
Bryant said the inspiration for the poem came from a girl named April she knew in elementary school.
"Her first boyfriend, her first serious one, got very possessive," Bryant said. "She tried to leave."
But the boyfriend got violent, she said.
"He thought if he killed her then no one else could have her," Bryant said.
Golden said the judges were moved by the poem.
"When she did it, you could tell she was passionate about it," Golden said. "It was very original for her to do poetry."
While some performers emerged victorious from the competition, Best said every performance was merited.
"I expect to see great things from these up-and-coming groups of men and women," she said.
